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Redtail's Debt/Chapter 10
Chapter description :Redtail staggers back, staring at Oakheart’s body. Around him, the fight continues as he sees Ravenpaw fighting and Tigerclaw holding his own against two warriors. However, the sounds of battle a muted to him as the realisation sinks in that he had killed Oakheart. A wail of horror brings him out of his mind as two RiverClan warriors begin to take Oakheart’s body away from him, eyes wide with horror. As the fight continues, Redtail knows it needs to stop and he again throws himself between two cats, this time Tigerclaw and a RiverClan warrior. He stops the tabby from possibly killing the other cat. Tigerclaw commends him for his brutality and strength. Redtail feels sick from the other cat’s praise as he recalls there was a time such a comment would’ve meant everything to him. :Fury burns inside the ThunderClan deputy when he realises Tigerclaw is to blame for the actions taken that day. Oakheart would still be alive and Ravenpaw wouldn’t be injured if Tigerclaw hadn’t attacked a RiverClan cat, Redtail muses before realising he also wouldn’t be a killer. Ravenpaw asks after Tigerclaw and Redtail notices the blood dripping from his shoulder. Around them, only two RiverClan cats remain, snarling at the ThunderClan cats. Redtail orders Ravenpaw to leave once again, hoping that he can save the apprentice from further injury. Tigerclaw also orders his apprentice to leave, but, Ravenpaw hesitates saying the fight wasn’t done and he owed Redtail. The deputy snaps that the apprentice doesn’t owe him anything and Tigerclaw reiterates for the young tom to run back to camp. As the apprentice takes off, Redtail sees one of the RiverClan warriors attack Tigerclaw. The two warriors fight and Redtail snaps at Tigerclaw to stop and that they don’t need anymore blood spilt. :The remaining RiverClan cats retreat and Redtail finally feels a tightness inside him relax. He can’t bear to think about Oakheart’s death as the sun sits high in the sky. Then, a sharp pain rips across his throat as he feels blood stream down his chest. He tries to get to his paws, thinking that the RiverClan cats had come back. Instead, he sees Tigerclaw staring down at him. :Confused, Redtail tries to ask why and Tigerclaw tells him that it was nothing personal and that ThunderClan needs a real deputy. He adds he was just doing what he should’ve let the hawk do back when the deputy was just an apprentice. Redtail feels cold as he states the tom had saved his life though, confused by the tabby’s words. Tigerclaw tells him he should’ve been loyal from then on, but he wasn’t. As Redtail feels himself fading he thinks that Tigerclaw will kill every cat that gets in his way, the dread filling him as it all goes black. He has one final thought of Dustpaw, waiting for him to take him hunting, and Redtail apologises that he couldn’t keep the promise. :Blinking open his eyes, Redtail is met with no pain and he sees Sunstar and is confused. The tom realizes he is dead, and Sunstar tries to comfort him and tells him that he was there to take him to StarClan. Redtail follows the tom as they walk through shimmering mist, which turns to trees and soft grass. The two toms pass by a pond and Redtail looks in it to see his own reflection. He recalls Spottedleaf telling him once that the cats of StarClan retained their appearance from when they were their happiest in their lives. Redtail notes that he doesn’t look younger and that only his eyes seemed brighter. He reflects that he had been very happy in ThunderClan, that every cat he loved was there and that he enjoyed his role as deputy. :In a jolt, Redtail remembers that ThunderClan was in danger because of Tigerclaw. He asks Sunstar to send him back so he can warn them about the tabby tom. Sunstar tells him he can’t do that, but, that ThunderClan will be saved. The former leader leads him to the edge of a larger pond and tells him to look. Redtail peers into the water and sees ThunderClan’s camp and all the cats within. He sees Ravenpaw being treated by Spottedleaf and Tigerclaw speaking as the other cats listen respectfully. Redtail feels a little bit of anger at the sight of the tabby, wondering what lies he was telling their Clanmates. :Then, Redtail sees a strange fiery orange cat. He asks Sunstar, noting that the stranger wasn’t a ThunderClan cat. Sunstar tells him that he will be soon once Bluestar names him Firepaw. Redtail looks at the newcomer more closely, recalling a prophecy his sister had told him about. The tom wonders if Firepaw was the meaning of the prophecy, and warmth spreads through him when he realises that Firepaw, not Tigerclaw, would be the future of ThunderClan and that the Clan would be saved. Characters Major }} Minor *Ravenpaw *Sunstar }} Mentioned *Spottedleaf *Willowpelt *One-eye *Dustpaw *Firepaw }} Important events Deaths *Redtail is killed by Tigerclaw. Notes and references Category:Redtail's Debt Category:Novellas Category:Chapter subpages